3.75 stars Tim and Alice were my two favorite characters in My Life Next Door, so I was happy this second book was their story. I ended up enjoying this quite a bit, especially when compared to the first book, which had an ending I detested.

What I liked:

1. Tim and Alice. The author did a great job giving unique voice to these two characters. They felt complex and deep. I liked their banter.

2. Depiction of addiction. As someone who has loved ones who struggle with addiction, this felt very authentic to me. I liked the fact that the author wasn’t afraid to tackle it and show that just because someone looks okay to the outside world (like Tim’s dad) it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem at home.

3. The audiobook. I listened to this on audio and I have to say, both of the voice actors did a phenomenal job not only with the lead characters, but also all of the side characters, specifically the younger kids. I thought it was great.


What I didn’t like:

1. Side characters. Just like in the first book, I feel like many of the side characters are very flat. Even Jase and Samantha, who I already know because of the first book, felt a little thin to me in this book.

2. Side stories/subplots. There are so many characters in this book with their own stories happening. However, the main story was Tim working toward getting his shit together and his relationship with Alice. These side stories aren’t developed enough to create a more complex narrative. I think the fact that there are so many characters and the author is trying to give them all purpose actually hurts this story by creating a lack of focus.

3. Samantha’s mom. Grace is a very one-dimensional villain. She has no depth, and has shown zero growth from the first book. Some may disagree and say that she is just trying to do what’s best for her daughter. Those people are wrong. Sorry, not sorry. And again, just like with the first book, they Way she acts and things she says just aren’t very realistic. She knows that her daughter won’t put up with what she’s doing, and yet she tries to do it anyway. Just felt a little lazy to me.

Other odds and ends:

*SPOILERS AHEAD*
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- Girl who gets pregnant out of wedlock is named Hester? Liiiiiike...Hester Prynne? Real subtle...

- Why on Earth did Hester not give Cal up when he was born? That’s never explained to my satisfaction.

- What the hell was Tim’s problem with the name Calvin?! I don’t get it. I mean, people have their preferences, but he was intense in his hatred of the name.

- ****Soapbox moment****
I was glad that Alice’s father let her know that they don’t expect her to be a second mom to the kids and have to take care of everything, but actions speak louder than words. Now I understand that in this book, her father was in a hospital almost the entire book and her mom was struggling with morning sickness, but the first book had all of the older kids pretty much taking care of the younger and it wasn’t treated like a rare thing. It was one thing that really bothered me about the first book, which took a definite stance on big families and people being judgmental about people with big families. Yes, it is absolutely rude as hell to walk up to someone and make comments about how many kids they have. But at the same time, I think it’s also rude to put your older kids in a position where they are essentially parenting your younger children instead of being teenagers and young adults themselves. I was the oldest of four kids, and while I babysat my siblings, my mom wouldn’t have expected me to be the stand-in parent because she was sick. I know this is a sensitive issue and I’m not trying to anger anyone with my opinion, but it was something that kept running through my mind during these two books.

***carefully stepping off soapbox***

All in all, I enjoyed this book and reading from Tim’s and Alice’s perspectives. I just wish there had been a bit more depth to make this story feel a little more complex.